The Penguin Parade

Lola was ten years old, and she had been looking forward to this trip for months. Her grandparents had lived in Melbourne for many years, and this summer she was visiting them on her own for the first time. On her third day, her grandfather said, "Tonight we are going to see the penguins." Lola thought he was joking. She thought that penguins were only found in Antarctica.

In the afternoon they drove to Phillip Island, which is about two hours south of the city. On the way, her grandmother explained that the island is home to thousands of little penguins, the smallest penguins in the world. They are only about thirty centimeters tall. "Every evening at sunset they come out of the sea and walk across the beach to their nests," she said. "People call it the Penguin Parade."

At the visitor center, they were met by a young ranger called Jack. Before they went down to the beach, he told the visitors some rules. "Photos are not allowed here," he said. "Phones and cameras must be put away before the penguins arrive." A man near Lola complained, but Jack explained that the birds can be frightened by the flash, and that a scared penguin sometimes goes back into the sea and leaves its chicks hungry.

Lola asked how the penguins were protected. Jack told her that many years ago the island was full of houses, and the penguins were often killed by cars, dogs and foxes. Then the houses were bought by the government and taken away, and the land was given back to nature. "Now the beach is watched by rangers every night," he said, "and the money from the tickets is used for research."

They sat on wooden seats near the sand while the sun went down. The wind was cold, and Lola was glad that she had been given her grandmother's thick jumper. For a long time, nothing happened. The sea was dark and the waves were noisy. Then her grandfather touched her arm and pointed.

A small group of penguins was standing at the edge of the water, looking around nervously. Suddenly they started to run up the beach, all together, like a team. Behind them came another group, and another. They were blue and white, and they moved from side to side as they walked. Some of them stopped to rest and then continued up the hill toward the grass.

Afterwards they walked back along a wooden path, and the penguins were everywhere around them, calling to their chicks in the darkness. One of them stopped right next to Lola's shoe. She held her breath and did not move. For a second the penguin looked at her, and then it disappeared into the bushes.

In the car on the way home, Lola was very quiet. "Are you sad that you couldn't take a photo?" her grandmother asked. Lola shook her head. "No," she said. "I don't need one. I will never forget it."